The Nine, Jeffrey Toobin
I recently read the 2007 book called The Nine, by Jeffrey Toobin. The author gives us glimpses into the people appointed by Presidents Clinton and Bush with some 1960s and 1970s appointments that made up the liberal court. Surprises abound as Republican appointed Justices created a new kind of conservative court.
Two political ironies underscore Jeffrey Toobin's interesting new account of how personnel changes have changed the Supreme Court over the past two decades.
One is that, at the very time the Republican Party's four-decade ascendancy shows signs of abating, President Bush's appointments of Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito have enabled conservatives to achieve their long-sought goal of a firm court majority.
Secondly, for all the GOP's advocacy of judicial restraint and its criticism of judges who legislate from the bench, the Republican-appointed majority represents what the author terms "a new kind of judicial activism" that threatens long-established rulings in crucial areas such as abortion and affirmative action.
O'Connor and Kennedy have maintained the swing vote on the court. And, as Toobin points out, it all about how many votes you can muster that makes your opinion count.
As the Renquist court became the Roberts court the issues of abortion, Roe v Wade, still dominate the agenda. With the most likely Justices to retire, Liberal Souter, Stevens and Ginsburg, the new conservative court will be an interesting observation in the coming years.
